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Mr Speaker Sir, as I celebrated International Women’s Day last month with my sisters, my constituents, my unionists, I was greatly inspired by the women from all walks of life sharing what it meant to break the gender bias, smash glass ceilings and reach for the stars. If we take a look around, we will realise that we are surrounded by so many inspirational Singaporean women. In one IWD panel, I met with four such inspirational women with very diverse life stories. Chef Judy is a successful chef and after a very painful divorce, she used the baking skills she learnt from her very supportive ex-mother-in-law to become a successful café and baking school business owner. Gwendoline has a degree in Political Science and is also thriving as a Rota Commander and Fire Fighter. Cheryl struggled with mental health and now is a beauty queen and a passionate advocate for mental wellness. Sofia left her job to focus on raising her young family, but in the midst of it, upskilled herself, and is now a proud owner of a very fulfilling business of supplying wedding flowers.
Importance of a fairer and more inclusive society
These stories and achievements of our ladies reflect the strength and determination we possess as we strive for excellence. And this is in part, made possible by the considerable improvements in opportunities, protection and safety nets that Singapore has developed over the years, evident in the increase in women graduates and women employment along with the growth of women in leadership and board positions. However, in our efforts to honour our women who #BreaktheBias, our actions need to continually reflect the inherent challenges that women continue to face in our society, communities and families.
And with this, I welcome the 25 very far-reaching recommendations made by the White Paper. If our laws and policies are to reflect the standards we as a society desire, then this House must continue to look to pursue choices that seek to achieve a fairer and more inclusive society where both men and women, as equal partners, are free to chase their aspirations to the fullest. The NTUC recognises its pivotal position in spearheading efforts to achieve greater gender equality in Singapore and has through the decades, remained to be a progressive and relevant voice for our women, from the Women’s Programme under Mdm Yu-Foo Yee Shoon to the Women's Development Secretariat led by Mdm President Halimah to its current incarnation – the NTUC Women and Family Unit.
Widening career choices for women
Indeed, the creation of a more inclusive society that does not differentiate on gender relies first on the ability to provide equal opportunities for women. Today, our Women are flourishing in careers in STEM, IT, entrepreneurship, services, manufacturing and our choices are often limited only by our interests and passions. However, our work is far from being completed! Apart from developing favourable policies that elevate women in the workforce, the Labour Movement sees the pertinent need to widen the field for women by reimagining and refreshing our career choices. In addition to the promotion of STEM careers, the NTUC Women and Family Unit has identified more opportunities and market gaps in critical but neglected professions that are traditionally dominated proudly by women, such as dressmakers and nannies. Together with the Labour Movement’s ecosystem partners, we have started the process of refreshing and professionalising such occupations and have piloted place-and-train programmes in these sectors.
The Labour Movement recognises that our Singaporean women often play the role as the primary caregiver in our families, and thus have been advocating since the 1990s on Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) as a workplace norm. We welcome and support the White Paper’s recommendations on FWAs, and beyond the new Tripartite Guidelines on FWAs, we call on employers to take steps to ensure fairness in the appraisal and performance management of workers on FWAs. Workers must be clear about the duties, expectations and deadlines when they are on FWAs.
Supporting women returning to the workforce
Women go through many seasons, and we recognise that many women at different points in their lives, would leave or enter/re-enter the workforce. Many face difficulty re-entering the workforce after an extended hiatus as there is a mismatch in expectations and support between employers and women returners. The Labour Movement has seeked to bridge this gap by providing training and mentoring that women can leverage on to give themselves a leg up. The Labour Movement through the NTUC Women and Family Unit’s Women Supporting Women (WSW) Mentorship Programme grants women at all levels, including PMETs, access to women mentors who provide support and guidance allowing our women to have a better landing when they are returning to the workplace or even to pursue better and shinier pathways at work.
I witnessed the journey of some 50 mentees who benefitted from this programme, and I would like to share the experience of one, Ms K. A single mom to 3 young children, Ms. K quit her job five years ago as she was constantly taking childcare leave to take care for her young children. When she joined the programme, she was taken under the wing of unionist Sister Daphne Ng from the Singapore Fintech Association. This six-month journey together culminated with Sister Daphne recommending a full-time role that provided flexible work arrangements which catered both to Ms K’s caregiving and professional needs. Such success stories have spurred the Labour Movement to bring the WSW Mentorship Programme to more local communities and the Labour Movement welcomes the White Paper’s recommendations on using mentorships to augment opportunities for women to re-enter the workplace.
Enhancing workplace measures to protect women
Mr Speaker Sir, While the NTUC has pioneered actions that look to create opportunities and provide support for women to enter and re-enter the workforce, we also recognise the need to enhance our measures to protect women from workforce harassment and discrimination. Earlier this year, a survey conducted by the Women and Family Unit and the PAP Women’s Wing revealed the worrying trends of gender discrimination that our women of today face at their workplaces. Not only did the report show that women perceive that they are disproportionately facing workplace discrimination, but it also highlighted the prevalence of a lack of company know-how and policy against such workfore discrimination and harassment. And this is in particular among companies that do not enjoy the abundance of resources and manpower. The NTUC has hence started to look to channel efforts into enhancing the protection of SME Workers by engaging our employers through dialogues, talks and webinars whilst providing shared HR resources that work to prevent workplace discrimination and to protect whistle blowers within reason. We are committed to equipping our SMEs and companies with better SOPs that can help to create discrimination- and harassment-free workplaces.
NTUC has long championed actions to address discrimination in the workplace. We were party to drafting the Tripartite Guidelines on Non-discriminatory Job Advertisements that were issued in 1999. We co-led the formation of the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP) in 2006 to promote fair and equitable employment practices as well as to provide an avenue for workers to report such unfair practices. TAFEP subsequently formulated the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP) in 2007 which has helped guide companies in adopting fair and merit-based employment practices. NTUC has also been advocating for measures to level the playing field between Singaporeans and foreign workers for opportunities since 2011. These were implemented in the form of the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) and the National Jobs Bank in 2014. More recently in 2021, the PME Taskforce driven by NTUC and SNEF called for strengthening enforcement against errant companies adopting unfair practices, such as by empowering TAFEP to impose penalties on recalcitrant companies and putting in place safe whistle-blowing policies and procedures to combat discrimination at the workplace. We are heartened that these calls made by NTUC will be reflected in the move to enshrine the TGFEP in law. As we look forward to the proposals by the Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness at the end of 2022, we will continue to safeguard the safety of women workers and help employers create a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment.
Conclusion
From the time I have stepped into this House, I have seen the concerted effort of our nation and this House in supporting the development of women in Singapore. While we have made progress over the years, the NTUC has identified multiple significant challenges that women continually face as they pursue their career aspirations. The NTUC believes that one’s gender should never be an obstacle or hindrance in the workforce, and we will make every effort to providing opportunities and resources that work towards championing our women in the workplace.
Mr Speaker, I support the White Paper and the motion. Thank you.
